Have yourself a Peanuts' little Christmas
by Guylene
Summary: Adult Peanuts Story. Following the death of one of the Peanuts, Charlie Brown tries to organize a reunion with childhood friends he hasn't seen in years. Will he succeed?
1. Chapter 1

**Hi everyone! Yes, I know we are far from Christmas but I didn't have time to write this fic last Christmas and I don't want to wait til the next one :)**

**This fiction contains mentions of drug abuse but no descriptions of it. **

**The Peanuts belong to Charles M. Schulz. **

**Please let me know what you think ;**

OOO

Everything began on a Friday evening at the beginning of December. Linda and I had both come back from work, Jim was doing some assignment for the school and Abigail had just come home from the swimming pool. We were preparing for a quiet Friday evening dinner and TV when the doorbell rang. We all looked up, surprised: we weren't expecting any visit.

I opened the front door to reveal my sister Sally, looking unusually sad.

On some aspects, Sally had changed very much over the years. The child who only wanted to sit in front of the TV had developed a passion for travelling, sometimes scaring the hell out of me with her not-so-reasonable destinations. The child who had threatened authority was now working for social services, dealing with endangered teenagers and drug addicts and handled it well. As a teenager, she had still been obsessed with Linus but she went on with her love life after he left for college.

On other aspects, she was still the same old Sally. She wore her blond hair short and messy and liked colorful dresses and accessories. She had worn a gown on her wedding day only because our mother had threatened not to come if she didn't.

"What's wrong? Our parents...?" I asked. Sally didn't live in my neighborhood and it was unusual for her to show up like that.

"Oh, no, it's alright. I just got some disturbing news and I thought you should have known"

While talking, I had led her in the living room, where my family greeted her.

"What news do you have?" I asked after Abby was finished hugging her.

"You remember Pig Pen?"

"Pig Pen?" interrupted Jim incredulously.

"Yes, an old childhood friend of us... he wasn't very clean..." I explained.

"He's dead" Sally cut in before my son had the time to answer.

"What?!"

"He overdosed, about a week ago" added Sally with a sad voice.

That wasn't really a surprise. I hadn't heard of Pig Pen after high school but he had already been using drugs back then.

"A colleague told me that today and I was... well we knew that he used drugs, right? But still..."

I sat beside Sally on the sofa.

"I am really sorry. I remember playing with him... we always thought it was funny, how he always managed to get dirty, Maybe he already needed help..."

"Well, I wanted to tell you. Now I must go home before Josh has to leave for his night shift"

"Working on the whole weekend?" I asked.

"That can happen when you marry a policeman" she replied.

OOO

I was very silent during the dinner. Linda and the children chatted quietly but my wife looked concernedly at me from time to time.  
Yes, I hadn't seen Pig Pen in almost thirty years and we hadn't been best friends but still. I remembered us meeting at the park, at summer camp, with mutual friends and it was hard to imagine that that child had overdosed. But what had happened to the other children I had been playing and going to school with? I hadn't met some of them in years.

"It's snowing again" said Abigail looking out of the window "I'll go bring Nemo inside".

"I'm going to call Linus" I told Linda, putting my notebook on the small table in the living room. He was unusually online on Skype and I didn't even need to text him.

Linus had made a brilliant career at high school and college. Now he was working as a cardiologist in Rochester. He had married a colleague and had now a teenage daughter. He had given up his beloved blanket long ago but he was always the same old Linus: witty, insightful, always offering some philosophical oder biblical sentence or some absurd detail about Roman history only he could remember.

Linus had been my best friend during my school years and things didn't change after he moved for college and then went to Rochester. Linus had been my best man, I had been his. We talked at least once a week and knew everything about each other, even the most ridiculous things.

I started a call and Linus answered almost immediately.

"Hello, Charlie Brown!" he said with a bright smile "Hi, Linda" he added, spotting my wife beside me "How are you doing?"

Abby and Jim went to sit on the couch and greeted him as well.

"Hi, Linus. We are all fine but I got some disturbing news from Sally today and I wanted to tell you" I went on.

He was saddened upon hearing about Pig Pen.

"I didn't even know where he was and what he was doing. Well, of course I knew about the drugs back then. Hard do miss..." he said sadly "His closest friends tried to help back then. If only..." he sighed heavily.

"I didn't feel like texting you that news..."

"Of course not, thank you for calling."

"And what about you? How are you doing?" I asked.

"We are all fine, thank you. And we are both not working at Christmas, unlike last year... we are coming over for Christmas. Lucy is coming as well"

"Well then, Christmas at home!" said Linda with a smile "It was just time, you haven't come here for Christmas in three years"

"Yeah, Christmas has been sad without you!" added Abby.

"Christmas can't be sad with your father, he loves it" Linus chuckled softly.

OOO

"Dad, were you good friends with this Pig Pen? You look really torn" said Abby when the call with Linus was over.

"No, we weren't really friends" I replied "it's just... I was in this group of children who played baseball and went to school and to summer camp together... we spent our afternoons together and I'm realising I haven't seen many of them anymore in the past 30 years. I don't even know where they are now. And we were like always together". I failed to add that I wasn't exactly the most popular guy in the group and that I often had to spend my time alone. But even if I didn't get Valentine cards and even if Lucy laughed at me I had never really been bullied, the other children still wanted to play baseball with me and to spend free time with me, unlike in high school.

"Then why don't you organize a reunion?" asked Abigail excitedly.

"A reunion?" I asked.

"Yes! You know, contacting your old childhood friends and organizing a dinner or something"

I thought about it but it looked difficult: "I don't even know if they still live in Saint Paul and it is unlikely that they can come..."

"Abby is right, it sounds really nice and sweet! Besides, Linus and Lucy are already coming, that doesn't happen every year" reasoned Linda.

"It is useless to fight, dad" cut in Jim, who had been unusually quiet so far "when mum and Abby decide something, that something will be done".

He was right and I surrendered.

"Fine. But I don't know where to begin. I mean, I can't simply go where they used to live and look if their parents are still there"

"Dad, its 21th century. You can google them" snorted Jim "my word, you work with computers every day and you don't come to the idea"

"You know, I didn't grow up with computers, that's why I don't think about them..." I mumbled "And there is another problem: I don't really remember their names"

"Are you joking?" asked Abigail, shocked. "They were your friends!"

"Yes, but you know... there was this guy I played baseball with, we called him Schroeder but I don't know his first name. Of course I must've heard it but we just never used it. And there were these two girls, Peppermint Patty and Marcie... Peppermint Patty had a German surname I could never remember and Marcie... I'm not even sure that I've ever heard her last name."

"Well, if they're married they will have another last name anyway" reasoned Linda.

I smiled "Yeah... that's funny, they had both a big crush on me"

"Well, I hope they don't now" muttered Linda.

"A crush after 30 years? Not even Romeo and Juliet could last that long!" answered Abigail.

"Really, who on earth could remember all of these names after almost thirty years?" I asked, helpless.

"Linus!" Jim answered immediately.

I looked at him: "now, that's a clever idea!"

I noticed that Linus was still online on Skype and I started another call. Again, he answered almost immediately.

"Sorry for calling again, Linus, but a stubborn teenager just talked me into organizing a reunion with our old childhood friends and I need your help" I said grumpily.

He burst into laughter.

Now I would have to spend my weekend looking for old childhood friends. Not that I didn't want to meet them again, but I could already say that this reunion wasn't going to happen. They probably weren't living in Bloomington anymore, had other plans for Christmas or didn't want to come anyway.

"But that's a very nice idea and a good way to remember Pig Pen. I'm with you! What do you need?"

"Did you keep contacts with our schoolmates?"

"Huh, not really. Maybe I can help anyway?"

"What was Schroeder's first name?" I asked first.

"Edward" answered Linus without thinking a second.

"Yeah, that's it! Why the hell couldn't I remember that as well?"

Everyone laughed at that.

"I suppose you know the last name of Patty and Marcie as well?"

"Of course, Peppermint is Patricia Reichardt with 'd' and 't' and Marcie is Mary Johnson" answered Linus, again without thinking.

"Marcie's name was Mary?" I asked incredulously. Beside me, Abigal was noting all of the names on a paper.

"No, Mary Celia" explained Linus patiently "But maybe they're married and they have another last name".

"We will try anyway. Anyone else, dad?" asked Abigail.

"Well, there were Frieda and Franklin..."

"Frieda's last name was Rich. Franklin's was Armstrong" said Linus.

"I think I've never known these names" I commented.

"Now what are you going to do?" asked Linus.

"We are going to google all of them."

"And if you find them?"

"I think I'll organize something on December 23th or so. When are you coming back?"

"On the very same 23th" said Linus. "Let me know if you need anything else, I will tell Lucy myself"

OOO

After saying goodbye to Linus, Linda made hot chocolate for everybody, then we sat again on the sofa with hot mugs in our hands. Outside it was still snowing.

"Ok, let's start with this Edward Schroeder" said Abigail, tipping his name on the computer.


	2. Chapter 2

Abby typed "Edward Schroeder" on Google and soon a long list of websites and videos appeared.

"Uhm… piano player?" asked Abby.

"Really? Let me see" I said, turning the laptop to myself.

I clicked on the link 'Edward Schroeder's Website' and the picture of a blond man sitting at his piano appeared in front of me. There he was.

"Born in St. Paul… New Englang Conservatory of music… international masterclasses… wow. He loved playing piano and was good at it but I didn't know that he now is a great player!"

The photogallery showed pictures of him playing in Chicago, New York, London, Vienna, Milan…

"Let's listen to him playing something" said Abby clicking on Videos.

"Cole Porter, Gershwin, Brahms, Beethoven… click on Beethoven, he loved him" I said.

Abby clicked on the video and we listened silently to the Piano Sonata number 7. And yes, as a child he had been good but definitely not as good as now. I had to buy a CD of his, I thought.

He still played in the same way, curled on his piano, even if his piano was not a little one anymore.

"Well, this is not really my thing but… wow!" said Jim, impressed. "Think about it, dad. You listened to him for free and now he's giving concerts all over the world. Is there an email or something?"

I clicked on contacts and found Schroeder's agent's email. I worte a short message :

_Dear Sir _

_My name is Charles Brown and I am an old childhood friend of the pianist Edward Schroeder. We were classmates in Saint Paul, MN. I am organising a reunion with our old childhood friends and I would like to invite Schroeder as well. __Could you please let him read this email? You can also find me at this telephone number… _

I didn't write about Pig Pen, I didn't like to give such news with an email.

"Well, I hope he's going to answer" I said.

OOO

"Ok, let's go with the second, Peppermint Patty" said Linda.

I wrote 'Patricia Reichardt' on the laptop and many results appeard. None of them seemed to fit, though.

I thought briefly : "What do we do now ? Maybe her father still lives in Battle Creek…"

"Dad, look!" said Abigail, excited. She turned the laptop to me. She had written 'Peppermint Patty' and the first result of her research was now 'Peppermint Patty's Gym' in Duluth.

I clicked on the link of this large gym offering many different activities. I clicked on contacts and the picture of a young looking woman with freckles and a prominent nose appeared.

"That's Peppermint Patty, no doubt !" I said with a laugh.

"Look, it's still open tonight, we could try to call" said Abby.

I composed the number and after a moment a feminine voice answered but I could tell from the first syllable that this wasn't Peppermint.

"Peppermint Patty's gym, this is Marquez. How can I help you ?"

I cleared my throat : "Hello, I am Charles Brown, an old childhood friend of Patty. I would like to talk to her if I may"

There was a short pause, then she asked: "Are you Chuck?"

My whole family looked at me, bewildered.

"That would be me, yes!"

"And you owned a dog called Snoopy and played as a pitcher, right? Patty told me a lot of things about you"

Linda looked not very pleased about that but luckily Ms Marquez went on : "I'm Jessica, Patty's girlfriend. She's not here anymore tonight but I can give you her private telephone number. She would love to hear from you"

I wrote down the number, still taken aback from this news.

I bade goodbye to Jessica and noticed that everyone was looking at me.

"Chuck?" said Jim.

"Yes, she was always calling me that. And she called Lucy ‚Lucille' "

" I thought she had a crush on you" said Abby with a smile.

" Abigail, we were children!" I sighed.

I composed the number Jessica had given me and soon a raspy voice answered.

"Hello, this is Reichardt?"

"I am Charlie Brown" I answered simply.

There was a pause, then Patty burst into laughter, her voice booming in our living room.

"CHUCK! I can't believe it! Jeeeez, I haven't heard from you in centuries! How are you? Who gave you my number?"

"I am fine. I called the gym and Jessica gave me your number after I told her who I was…"

"Yeah, she's heard a lot about you. What do you do, still living in St. Paul?"

"Yes. I am an accountant, twenty years in the same business… I'm married and have two teenage children"

"Wow, that's great! Well, you know about me, I moved to Duluth and opened a gym. No surprises there, huh?"

"No, you've always been an athlete. Look, I am calling for a reason…"

"Well, go on"

"I am very sorry to tell you that Pig Pen has died"

There was a longer pause this time. Then "It was the drugs, wasn't it?". She was very quiet now.

"Yes, it was the drugs."

Patty sighed heavily. "Chuck, he was constantly high when we were teenagers. I tried to help, we all did. I must say I am surprised that he didn't die before. At the time I feared that he wouldn't have reached 20".

"You see, after hearing about his death I thought that I haven't talked with many of you childhood friends for years. Then my daughter suggested that maybe I could organize a reunion around Christmas. Something to remember Pig Pen too, you know?"

"Then you're lucky because I'm coming home. Last year we went to Jessica's in Oklahoma. Sweet idea, by the way. What would you like to organize?"

"Uhm, maybe a dinner together just before Christmas. Spouses invited, of course"

"Well, let me know when and where, will you ?"

"Of course. Do you still keep contact with Marcie?"

"You mean the teacher Mrs Greene? Yes, she lives in Blooomington"

"Teacher? Not surprising too!" I mused.

"Yeah, I could've told you that the very moment I met her. She's teaching at an elementary school in Bloomington. Do you need her number?"

"Yes, but… well, if she's married it would be weird to call and say ‚yes, I'm some old friend from almost forty years ago, you know…"

"Nick is not like that. But if you want I can call her and give her your number.

"And what about Franklin?" I asked, hoping that she had kept contact with him as well.

"Franklin has a restaurant with his brother. The Armstrong Brothers' Summit Restaurant in St. Paul"

We looked at each other in astonishment: we had eaten there many times and liked it a lot!

"Franklin owns that restaurant?! I had no idea!"

"Course he does. I always drop by when I visit my dad in town. His wife makes the best cheesecake ever"

"And you? Are you still in contact with some oft he old childhood friends?" she asked then.

"Only with Linus" I answered.

"Linus was the guy with the blanket, right?" she asked. Linda smiled but Abby and Jim looked at me with confusion in their eyes.

"Yes, even if he's given up the blanket a long time ago"

"The weirdest guy I've ever met but a fine baseball player" she commented shortly.

"And today I found out that my former catcher Schroeder has become a music star" I added.

"Chuck, did you really miss the posters that said 'Great pianist Edward Schroeder playing in his hometown' last year?" Patty asked in shock.

"I'm afraid I did..." I answered shaking my head.

"Oh, you're helpless! My father didn't miss it for sure. He went to Park Square Theatre to listen to him, even if he's not that fan of classical music. Well, Chuck, it has been good to hear from you. Call me when you've decided about the meeting, will you?"

After I closed the communication Jim said "And I thought Abby was an earthquake"

"If Abby is an earthquake, Patty ist he Armageddon" I mused.

"What is the blanket?" asked Jim.

"Linus used to bring a blanket with him when he was a child. It was his security blanket, he said"

"So I'm not the first one thinking he's weird" said Jim with wide eyes.

We were about to go on when my phone rang.

"Hello, Charles" said Marcie's voice.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello everyone! Here's my third chapter, please let me know what you think :)**

"Hi Marcie!" I said happily.

We exchanged greetings and a few questions. Marcie had married a software programmer and lived in Bloomington. She had two teenage daughters who liked sport a whole lot more than she had, she explained with a laugh.

"Patty told me about Pig Pen. This is very sad, even if I am not surprised. Will there be a service or something?"

"I think the service is already done, he died about a week ago…" I answered.

There was a short pause.

"I still have a picture of us together at summer camp" she said "me, you, Patty, your sister, Linus, Lucy, Schroeder, Frieda, Franklin, Pig Pen… and of course your dog, Snoopy. It's a very beautiful picture, I will make a copy for everyone".

The mention of Snoopy really touched my heart. Of course, I had had other dogs after Snoopy and I still had a dog but Snoopy had been the first one and the relationship with a dog is not quite the same for a child and for an adult.

"Anyway your idea of organizing a reunion with all of us is very sweet, I'm looking forward to it"

Abby stuck her tongue out and I could read ‚you see?' on her lips. I shot her a bad glare and went back to Marcie.

"I think I'll plan it on December 23th. Are you going to be in town ? Spouses and children invited, of course"

"Yes, we are visiting Nick's parents in Milwaukee on 24th but before and after that we're here. And where?"

"Well, I was thinking at Franklin's? I found out today that he owns the summit restaurant" I said.

Marcie laughed again : "You know, he spotted me once. I went there with my family and he recognized me. He has grown a beard and wears glasses, I would've never recognized him"

We chatted a little more about our childhood friends, then we bade each other good bye and I stopped the call.

"She sounds really nice" said Abby.

"She's always been nice".

I was really surprised about how things were progressing. I hadn't heard from Patty and Marcie in almost thirty years but it was almost as if weh ad never been apart. They had been more than happy to hear from me and enthusiastic about the meeting while I had expected something more like 'oh, yes, Charlie Brown the bad pitcher. Hi'.

"The next one would be Franklin" said Linda looking for the Summit Restaurant's telephone number. She handled me the restaurant's card with the number and I called. A juvenile voice answered: "Summit restaurant, I am LeRoy. How can I help you?"

"Hello, I am Charles Brown, a former childhood friend of Mr. Amstrong" I said.

"Which Mr. Amstrong, sir? Franklin or John?" he asked. Of course, the Armstrong _Brothers_. I didn't even recall Franklin having a brother, he was probably too small at the time.

"Franklin. Is he there?"

"I'm sorry, Mr. Brown, but my father is not here anymore tonight. I can let you speak with my uncle or give you my father's number if it's urgent"

"It is not urgent but I don't need to speak with your uncle either. I am organizing a reunion with old childhood friends and I am looking for your dad"

"Then I can write your telephone number down and he can call you tomorrow in the morning".

"That would be great, thank you"

I gave him my number and bade him goodbye.

"So. We talked with Peppermint Patty and Marcie and found Schroeder and Franklin. There's only Frieda left"

I grimaced: "I have no idea where to begin, nobody mentioned her so far. I think I will simply call your grandmother tomorrow and ask. If her parents are still in the neighborhood, she will certainly now where Frieda is".

OOO

"At first I didn't think this was a good idea" I told Linda once we were in our bedroom.

"You never do" she smiled, removing her earrings "but now you're more excited than Abby herself".

In fact I did. I hadn't spoken with these people in thirty years and now I was looking forward to meeting them.

"You use to say that the other children didn't like you very much but it doesn't look like that" she said frowning "Patty and Marcie were clearly happy to hear from you"

"Well, Patty and Marcie were not the ones I had problems with. And moreover, people who didn't like me were more of a problem during high school".

It was true, my high school years had been miserable. I had been bullied continuously and I had given up playing sports because most people didn't welcome me in the teams. I wasn't a bad student but I wasn't the best either, I didn't have any special talent. Needless to say, I wasn't popular among girls. My life had been like hell and it was only because of my friendship with Linus that I hadn't been bullied even more.

Linus had been our school's best student and athlete in years and at the same time he wasn't a gunner. Nobody ever tried to bully him. On the very few times when someone mocked him, he reacted with such an absolute indifference that the people mocking him felt ridiculous more than guilty. Everyone knew I was Linus' best friend and avoided bullying me whenever he was around, even if he was younger than I.

At the end of high school, my dog Snoopy died and some time after that Linus moved to Michigan for college. Those were the most difficult times for me.

And then, in just a few months, everything changed.

I found a job I was good at and where people appreciated me for being punctual and accountable. I met a lovely young woman who liked me. In a very few years, I had become a husband and a father. At that point I only wanted to look forward and not past, I didn't want to think about my school items being stolen or the girls laughing in my face anymore, I wanted to begin a new life. I only kept contacts with closest friends and family. Now, looking back, I felt that my childhood hadn't been that miserable at all, apart from some silly classmates.

"I was happy with Peppermint, Schroeder, Franklin, Marcie. Abby is right, I should've done it before" I told Linda turning my light off.


	4. Chapter 4

I've always liked Saturday mornings with my family.

We do nothing special. We simply enjoy a long breakfast together in our pijamas, listening to the radio and eating pecan pie or something like that. Linda has a flower shop which is of course open on Saturdays but she always manages to be at home on Saturday morning.

I was preparing the second cup of coffee for everybody and the radio was transmiting « Who got the hooch », with the result that both of my children were singing along, when my phone ringed.

"Hello, Charlie Brown !" said a warm voice while my daughter turned the radio's volume down.

After so many years, I still recognized the voice.

"Hi, Franklin !" I answered putting the speakerphone "How are you ?"

"I'm very fine and it's great to hear from you! What are you doing?"

I told him about Linda and my children and he told me about his own family in turn. LeRoy, with whom I had spoken the previous night, was the oldest son and he also had a daughter.

"You know, I didn't realize that you owned the Summit Restaurant, Piperita Patty told me that. And we've been there so many times!"

"You probably wouldn't have recognized me, Marcie didn't when she went here!" he mused.

He didn't know about Pig Pen.

"You know, we weren't speaking anymore since I was sixteen. I had confronted him about the drugs and he told me to mind my own business, yelling insults and hitting me for good measure. I even went to his parents but they simply said that he wasn't listening to them anymore and stuff like that"

I didn't know about that. But of courser, Franklin lived at the other side oft he city on that time.

"Then I obliged. We had been friends but I didn't know what to do and adults weren't helping. Eventually I spoke with my mother and she said I should've avoided such bad companies, even if I never did drugs".

I sighed: "Well, I think any parent would've said the same thing. He needed professional help…"

There was silence for a moment, then Franklin said: "LeRoy told me something about a reunion"

Like Peppermint and Marcie, he was enthusiastic about the reunion and accepted to organize it in his restaurant.

"I'll reserve a room just for all of us, without other people. If everyone brings family there will be about 25 people, that will not be a problem. I'm looking forward to it!" he said happily.

"Why does everyone call you Charlie Brown?" asked Jim leaning back on the chair.

"I was neither the only 'Charles' nor the only 'Brown' at school. There were Charlie Esposito, Charlie Patton…"

"C_harlie Patton_?! Are you _that_ old?"

I rolled my eyes. "Anyway, there were more than one Charlie and I became Charlie Brown"

"Thank you for calling me _James Brown_ by the way" said Jim grumpily "nobody mocks me because of that"

"Oh, please. You teenagers don't listen tot hat music anymore…"

OOO

After breakfast I phoned my mother, hoping that Frieda's parents still lived in the neighborhood.

"Frieda Rich? The girl with curls? Of course, she's a hairstyler!" said my mom when I told her what I needed "she works in St. Paul but I don't know the shop's name"

I had no trouble finding 'Frieda's Hairstyling' on the phone book and I called. Abby sat in front of me and showed me the list: Frieda was the last one whe had to track down.

"Frieda's Hairstyling, my name is Sophie" answered a young voice.

"Hello, my name is Charles Brown. I'm a childhood friend of Ms. Rich, I am looking for her"

"Just a moment, sir"

I heard Sophie whispering "Frieda, one Mr. Charles Brown is looking for you. He says he was a friend of yours…"

"Charlie Brown? You must be kidding me!" she answered. A second later I heard her voice greeting me:

"Are you really Charlie Brown? I can't believe it*"

"Frieda! Still have natural curls?"

"Of course I do, as curly as ever!"

Frieda worked near St. Catherine's university and had a partner but no children. She asked a lot of questions about me, my family, my job and baseball.

"We were so unfair with you, Charlie Brown. We all were horrible at playing baseball!" she confessed with a laugh "Never touched a ball again after elementary school. But why were you looking for me in the first place?"

"Well, I'm trying to organize a reunion with the good old childhood friends… Lucy, Linus, Peppermint and so on"

"That's cool! When? Where?"

She wrote the date and the address down – she didn't know that Franklin owned that restaurant as well and I felt better.

"Charlie Brown, there is some bad news I should tell you since you probably don't know" she said in the end, cautiously.

"If you are talking about Pig Pen I already know. That's why I'm organizing the reunion in the first place"

She was silent.

"You know, there was something between me and Pig Pen during high school. We didn't attend the same schools and I didn't know about the drugs… on our dates he was always clean. When I found out… well, I didn't want to fight with a drug-addicted at sixteen. I thought I couldn't plan a future together with him and I left him. Upon knowing that he was dead… well, it wasn't easy" she concluded.

I could percieve that she had thought a lot about it lately and that she felt very guilty.

"I don't think you should reproach yourself. My sister works with drug addicts, they sometimes have family and children and do drugs nevertheless. You were a teenager and one can understand that you just wanted to date him. What he needed was professional help and not a girlfriend…"

"Thank you, Charlie Brown. That's very nice of you"

OOO

"Ok, almost everybody is coming. We are only waiting for Schroeder now" I said.

"Maybe he's sent you an email" suggested Jim.

I opened the mailbox and there it was, coming directly from Schroeder's address.

_Dear Charlie Brown _

_I was very surprised and happy to read your message! How are you doing? _

_I haven't heard from our old childhood friends in forever, even if my parents told me that Linus is a doctor and Lucy an attorney. __I assume you know more since you're organizing this reunion. _

_Speaking of which, I will of course come to the reunion if I'm not working. __If you've already organized something, please let me know and I will confirm my presence as soon as possible. Plase do that per email because I don't answer my phone when I'm practicing or rehearsing. _

_My parents also told me that our former friend Pig Pen has overdosed and has died. I was very sorry to hear that, he was a nice child even if he later turned troublesome. _

_Please let me know about the reunion! _

_Yours _

_Ed _

The email had been written at 2 a.m., probably after a concert. I wrote back hoping that he could've come on 23rd December.

OOO

"Dad, I've just realized that aunt Sally doesn't know about the reunion" said Abby.

"She is coming soon anyway"

Sally used to visit us with her little daughter and sometimes with her husband every Saturday. She was very careful that her daughter didn't spend too much time in front oft he TV. Every Saturday morning, if she wasn't working, she would bring Sarah tot he supermarket, at the park and then to us. Sarah absolutely loved to play with my children and with the dog.

At about 10 a.m. the dorbell rang and I knew it was Sally even without looking.

My wife entered the living room with Sally and Sarah tiptoeing around her mother, looking for Nemo. As Jim arrived with the dog, Sarah ran to hug Nemo without even considering my son standing by the door.

"Sarah, your cousin is standing in fron of you. You should say hello" reproached Sally.

Sarah didn't look perturbed. She looked at Jim for a second, said ‚Hi!' waving her hand and returned happily her attention to the dog.

"Sally, Abigail had an idea yesterday" I said.

"Oh my. Should I worry?"

"It depends. She talked me into organizing a reunion of our childhood friends to remember Pig Pen"

Sally rolled her eyes and looked at Abby „Can't you simply think about _boys_ like all other teenagers?" Abby burst into laughter.

"And the thing is" I went on "that I found all of them and they're all coming. I'm only waiting for confirmation from Schroeder. And Linus and Lucy are finally both coming home after 3 years"

"Oh, my _sweet Babboo_ is coming!" she said happily, making both Jim and Abby look disgusted. My children knew about her crush for Linus but their reaction whenever she uttered that pet name amused Sally to no end.

"I simply don't get how you, of all people, had a crush on Linus. You are the last two people I can imagine together" said Abby handling a cup of coffee to my sister.

"Well. As for childhood, we were children. Linus once said that he wanted to marry me and I decided that he had to be my boyfriend. As for high school, I think any girl would've gone on a date with Linus"

"Really ?" asked Jim, curious. He was always eager to know how other boys or men managed to get dates "Why?"

"Well" said Sally frowning "it was a combination of many things. He was good looking but not so beautiful to scare people off. He excelled at school and at sports but never ever bragged about it. He was the sweetest and most caring person but didn't let other people tell him what he should think or believe, what he should wear and so on. He was very cultivated and read a lot but also liked sports, comincs and TV shows and didn't like doing assignments, like any other boy. And then he was endlessly witty"

"Really, sometimes it was embarrassing. We ate lunch or walked around and every girl couldn't take her eyes off him. For a best fried it was kind of depressing. Well, SAlly, are you coming too? Spouses and children invited, 23rd December at Summit's Restaurant"

"Sarah and I can come but I'm afraid Josh will be working again. Oh, well" she shrugged "he knows almost nobody in that group…"

OOO

In the afternoon I finally received an email from Schroeder, who confirmed his presence as well.

"It's unbelievable" I told my family that evening "I thought nobody would've come and after two days I've found everyone and I have confirmation from everyone"

""See?" mocked Abby "now we only have to wait until the 23rd. I can't wait*" exclaimed Abby.


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello everyone! **

**Thank you for your support and reviews. The next chapter will be the last one :)**

The 23rd December finally arrived. The children and I were at home while Linda was still working and would have arrived directly at Franklin's.  
As everyone who knows me likes to point out, I love Christmas. I love the way a small living room looks cozy because of a Christmas tree and some decorations and candles, I love the warm cocoa and cookies with family and friends while it snows, I love the music, I love sitting on the carpet before the Christmas tree on Christmas Day and watching your loved ones unwrap their presents. And as my children were younger, I loved decorating the house with them even more.  
As always, Linda, the children and I had spent quite a time to set up the decorations and our living room looked wonderful. A tree stood in a corner, red candles decorated, snowflakes were stuck to the windows.

Linus was going to arrive early in the afternoon with his family. Every time he visited, we always managed to keep a hour just for us, without wives and children. He had already told me that his brother Rerun had to work and was not coming home for Christmas but of course, Rerun had never really belonged to our group. Yes, when he was very young he always wanted to stay with his older siblings but as soon as he went to school he found his own friends and spent his time with them. I'm not even sure he remembered Pig Pen.

"I am so excited, I can't wait!" said Abby happily, hopping from foot to foot.

Finally the bell rang.

"This must be Linus" I said, heading to the front door.

OOO

"What did you get me? A brain or something?" asked Jim taking the present from Linus' hands.

"Since you are concerned, I went for a stomach" said Linus with a smile and Jim looked as if he were going to throw up. Abby had already put her present under the Christmas tree.

Linus handled me a small envelope but that was no mistery. Every Christmas we exchanged the same gift: a ticket for a baseball match we were going to watch together. I gave him his own envelope with a smile.

"Where are Caroline and Judith?" I asked.

"At my parents' house. My parents were overjoyed to see them and Caroline had night shift last night... she is sleeping"  
Judith was fourteen years' old and had inherited her father's love of baseball and her curiosity for big books. Linus often joked that she only needed a blanket to be just like him.

"Come, Charlie Brown, we have something to do before the reunion" said Linus.  
Whenever he visited we usually went to Lake Phalen by foot and sat somewhere. Lake Phalen had always been a destination of our bike trips and swimming sessions. But this time Linus went to his car and I knew without asking him that we were going to the cemetery.  
Linus drove silently on Arlington Avenue.

"Where is he?"

"In Elmhurst" he answered briefly.

We parked and walked in and Linus asked a guardian about Matt Krenshaw's grave. I grimaced: I had organized a reunion for his memory and I didn't even know his name! We followed the guardian's indications and soon we were standing in front of PigPen's grave, looking at the smiling young man with the dark shirt in the picture. We were not the first ones to visit his grave: there were blooms, candles and a small picture portraying all of us as children.

"This photo is Marcie's..." I murmured.

OOO

We went back to the car silently.

"Do you mind if I turn on the radio?" I asked "I need some music right now"

During childhood music hadn't been very important for me. Of course, I appreciated Schroeder and his piano but I didn't care that much for music itself. As a teenager, though, I began listening more and more music and it became a way to relax and to forget about bad things.

"Sure" said Linus turning it on. I expected some Christmas music but the radio's speaker announced: "Now we're playing some oldies. I hope you'll all recognize the first song from the first chords!". Then a song began and I immediately recognized 'where do the children play?'.

Linus and I looked at each other and we thought the same thing. The trip between Elmhurst cemetery and my house was short but Linus took a detour to listen to the song, driving straight to Lake Phlalen.

_"I know we've come a long way_

_we're changing day to day,_

_but tell me, where do the children play?"_ we sang together.

"We have still time to go for a walk, if you wish" he said.

"Yes, sure. Usual men's time"

The lake was frozen and many people were skating. I remembered when Piperita Patty used to skate here and my dog Snoopy ran on the ice to play with her. I smiled fondly.

Linus and I had a long walk, talking about a lot of things as usual.

"My sister is worried for Chris" he said eventually.  
Lucy was now a beutiful and classy woman. She had married an older colleague during her law studies and had had three children short after completing them. She had managed to run marriage, family and work at once. She and Daniel had been a wonderful couple despite being so similar, both bossy and temperamentful. Daniel had died four years before in a car accident. Lucy had suffered a lot but had carried on in her usual way, without hesitation, without flinching. Chris was her youngest son.

"Why?"

Linus sighed: "He was only ten when Daniel died and he's been missing him immensely, he didn't react like the two older boys. And now he's a teenager and they don't have the easiest relationship. It is still not serious but she's worried".

"And how's she?"

He grimaced: "Managing. She's done everything. She is going on with her work, the boys are going on with their studies... but happiness is something else and I dread the moment when the youngest boy will leave the house. She has never thought about herself since Daniel died"

I told him about my recent promotion, Jim's troubles with maths and Abigail's hopes to enter med school someday.

"Abigail had a very good idea with this reunion, Charlie Brown, and you managed to do all of this around Christmas. You really are the Charlie Browniest" he smiled.

"I was surprised to see everyone so excited and willing to come" I replied "but now I feel a strange sensation. It is like when I was a child, I fear that something won't work"

"It's almost Christmas, everything is going to be fine" Linus said confidently, with a dreamy smile.

OOO

Linda had arrived home in the meantime and she sat in the kitchen with a cup of tea. She smiled upon seeing me.

"How's Linus?"

"Weird. As usual" I answered. We both laughed.

"Are you excited?"

"Yes" I admitted "It is like going more than thirty years in the past"

I took the cup of tea that Linda was handling me. I closed my eyes tasting the sweet, Christmas-like mixture of cinnamon and ginger. That scent, that taste, brought me back to my childhood years. I saw Linus with his beloved blanket, Lucy with her psychiatric desk, Peppermint Patty skating and swirling on Lake Phalen, Frieda complaining that th baseball hat hid her curls, Schroeder playing his piano on Beethoven's birthday, Franklin telling me about his father, PigPen getting dirty without knowing how, Sally trying to woo Linus, Marcie reading under a tree, Snoopy sleeping with a yellow bird on his belly… I remembered a Christmas party that had gone wrong but had ended with all of us singing around an arranged Christmas tree in the middle of nothing…

"Are you asleep?" asked Linda's voice from afar.

"Sort of" I said, emerging from my daydream "I'll get a shower"

OOO

It was snowing again in St. Paul and I drove slowly to Summit's restaurant. Linda had tied her hair up in a bun, Abby was smiling broadly in her favourite white pullover and Jim was looking curious, almost excited.

In the restaurant, a girl in her teens greeted us.

"Good evening, my name is Joanne. Do you need a table for the four of you only?"

"I have a reservation, my name is Charles Brown" I told her.

She smiled "Great ! I am Franklin Armstrong's daughter ! You can follow me"

We followed her in a big room, decorated with a red and golden Christmas tree. There was also a piano in a corner and I smiled to myself, hoping that Schroeder would've played something for us. Marcie's picture, the one we had seen at the cemetery, stood in another corner, enlarged.

"It's a quarter to six, you are the first" said Joanne.

"I know but we were so excited that we couldn't wait anymore at home" said Abigail.

Joanne smiled fondly and said "I'll tell my father that you are here".


	6. Chapter 6

**Hello everyone!**  
**This is the last chapter, I hope you'll enjoy it! Thanks to everyone who has read and reviewed my fiction!**  
**The songs appearing in this chapter don't belong to me but to Hugh Martin and Ralph Blaine (the first one) and to Charles Wesley (the second one).**  
OOO

"Your head is even rounder than now in this picture" observed Jim studying Marcie's photo. Linda and Abby giggled but I didn't grace him with an answer and simply rolled my eyes.

Soon the door opened and Franklin appeared. I say Franklin only because I knew it was him, otherwise I wouldn't have recognized him. He was tall, almost imponent, and had square glasses and a short beard with some grey hair. He smiled broadly to me.

"Charlie Brown! What a joy to see you!"

We hugged and I presented my family to him.

"My wife and my son are busy in the kitchen at the moment but they will show up later" he promised. "But I did expect you to come with a baseball hat and that yellow T-shirt you loved!"

"I still have that yellow T-shirt together with the baseball equipment and some other things" I explained. Oh, that T-shirt! How many baseball matches had I lost wearing it?

"Did you also keep some kites?" he asked with a wicked smile.

I burst into laughter while my children looked at me, perplexed.

"You know, your father didn't have any luck with kites. Any time he wanted to fly a kite there was no wind other there was such a wind that the kite got trapped in a tree or it started raining" Franklin was laughing more and more with every word.

Someone knocked on the door and Joanne appeared with Linus and his family. Linus had worn a tie, as he usually did on special occasions, and was smiling fondly.

"Great! The one and only Linus Van Pelt!" cried Franklin.

"Have I changed so little?"

"You have changed a lot but still have the dreamy look!" explained Franklin "and your daughter has inherited it, it seems"

Judith laughed and said "everyone tells me I am as weird as my father. I don't know if I should take it as a compliment, though..." Linus rolled his eyes and gave me a meaningful look: we both where the victims of our spouses' and children's puns.

"Well, if you are as good at school and sports as he was, you should take it as a compliment for sure" commented Franklin, making Linus almost blush.  
As Franklin chatted with Linus, I turned to Linda and asked worriedly "What if nobody else is coming?".

You may think it was ridiculous but I really felt as if I were back in my childhood and I expected this reunion to turn as bad as my birthday and Christmas parties where I always managed to ruin everything.

"It's going to be fine, dear" said Linda soothingly "don't you see that everyone is delighted?"

For the moment I believed her and returned to the conversation.

"My idea is a buffet" Frankling was explaining "I think everyone will want to talk with everybody, it would make no sense to sit at the same place for the whole evening. Now if you'll excuse me I will make a short trip to the kitchen... ensuring that they don't need my help at the moment".

Judith and Caroline were studying Marcie's picture as well and had recognized me, Linus, Lucy and of course Franklin. "Where is PigPen?" asked Caroline.

I pointed at his small figure, with disheveled hair and clothing and for a moment we all looked at him and at his broad smile.

Suddenly a voice interrupted our contemplation:

"I can't believe my eyes!"

We turned to see Schroeder standing by the door with a large smile on his face.

"Linus! Charlie Brown! It's good to see you again!" he exclaimed before hugging us both.

"I'm afraid I haven't brought wife and children because I have none" he said with a shrug, and for a moment his smile was gone. It came back almost instantly, though.

"You had a great idea, Charlie Brown, and it has been so kind of you to look for all of us and organize everything!"

"The idea was mine, to say the truth, and my father wasn't very optimistic about it!" said Abby winking.

"Your dad has never been very optimistic, I remember that very well from being his catcher!" Schroeder laughed.

The door opened again and Franklin came in with a large group of people. After a moment, I recognized Peppermint Patty and a woman with glasses who had to be Marcie.

"CHUCK!" cried Peppermint, hurrying to hug me and almost breaking my rips in the process "You still have that round head, God bless you! And there's your family, your son looks just like you! Hello!" she said shaking everyone's hand happily. Behind her, a woman with dark hair and a red dress smiled bemusedly and presented herself as Jessica as soon as Patty went to greet Linus.

"It's nice to meet you, Patty has told me a lot of nice things about you and she is so excited since we've got your call that night. It's so beautiful in here!"

As Jessica went away, I noticed that Marcie had been standing behind her. Marcie still wore her hair shoulder-length hair and wore glasses, even if more fashionable ones.

"Hello, Charles, it is good to see you" she said politely, as always "Thank you for organizing everything"

"Thank you for coming and for the picture, it is very beautiful!"

"I've made a copy for everyone, as promised" she smiled.

"I saw you've made a copy for PigPen too" I said.

"He was in the picture. I thought he would've appreciated it" she answered simply.

I thought Marcie's husband had to look like her, somehow intellectual, with glasses and a feeble voice, but Nick was far taller than me and muscular. Despite his looks, he wasn't a football or rugby player but a quiet real estate agent. Their daughters looked a lot like him, tall, muscular and with red hair.

"Hello everyone!" said Lucy's voice from behind my back.

I hadn't seen her in more than a year but she was always the same. After the childhood, she had grown a beautiful and elegant young lady. Even in December, she was wearing high heels and a black suit with an immaculate white shirt and the unfailing self-confident look (knowing her, she had probably travelled with boots and changed into high heels in the restroom). Her black hair was tied up in the usual elegant but strict looking bun. Her younger sons, Michael and Chris, were with her.

Peppermint greeted her with such an enthusiasm that it was difficult to her to reach her brother Linus, whom she greeted with a slap on the shoulder.

"Charlie Brown, after so many years you still surprise me with brilliant ideas, sometimes" she told me after a moment.

"There are no surprises, this was Abby's idea" I explained. "Speaking of children, where is Scott?"

"On his way, his plane landed half an hour ago" she explained "of course, he didn't come to Chicago from Austin only to travel with us"

She hadn't noticed Schroeder standing behind her and smiling, amused. Seeing the look upon my face, she turned to face him.

"So, the great piano player has graced us with his presence" she said confrontationally but smiling "Franklin reserved a room with a piano for us, that is probably not a case. But no Beethoven, please!"

"At lest you won't be able to lean on a vertical piano!" he answered in the same tone. I rolled my eyes and left them bickering, going back to Linda and the children, who were talking with Peppermint Patty and laughing continuously. Apparently she was telling them some stories about our adventures at summer camp or my dreadful basebool team.

"Once I asked him 'would you put a picture of me on your piano?' because, you know, I had a little crush on him" she was saying, giggling "and he answered 'we don't have a piano!"

Everyone burst into laughter "That is so like him!" said Linda, winking at me. Luckily for me, the few missing guests chose that very moment to arrive together: Frieda and her partner, my sister Sally with Sarah and Scott, Lucy's oldest son, showed up together.

Frieda had always been very fashionable and interested in being good looking and she still was like that. Her hair were as curly as ever and she wore a beautiful blue shirt and a long gown, matching well with her hair's colour. She hugged me warmly, asking a lot of questions about my family and my job. I thought she was curious to see how my wife looked like and she was definitely surprised about it (Linda is definitely more beautiful than me).

Everyone was chatting happily until Franklin's voice boomed above all other voices:

"Good evening everyone, I am happy to see all of you again after so many years and to welcome you in my restaurant" everyone cheered.

"Now" he went on "I think the person who organized all of this should hold a short speech". He turned to me and motioned for me to come to the centre of the room.

I hadn't thought about holding a speech and I wasn't ready, I didn't know what to say. But everyone was looking expectantly at me and I had no options.

"Well... hello everyone and thank you for coming. As I heard about Pig Pen's passing, my daughter Abby suggested to organize a reunion with the old friends in order to remember you. At first I was pessimistic, I didn't know where you all were, I didn't have any telephone number, I thought you would've been to busy to come over... I am delighted that I've found all of you and that you've all come to the reunion. Marcie has brought the beautiful picture you can see at the corner and she made a copy of it for all of us, I will always treasure it and I would like to thank Marcie for doing it" Everyone clapped at my last words and Marcie blushed slightly.

"Pig Pen's death saddened me. I thought about our childhood, back when we believed that everything was going to be fine and that nothing bad could have happened, that the worst thing ever was a lost baseball match" someone laughed softly at that "I am very sorry and I'm happy that we can remember him together tonight. Thank you... and a merry Christmas"

Everyone clapped and cheered and Linus said loudly "You're the Charlie Browniest!" making me blush.

Meanwhile, Franklin was filling glasses for everyone.

"I toast to our old friend Pig Pen, in the hope that he's finally found peace" he said gravely.

We remained silent for a short time, each of us remembering Pig Pen in our own way. I could see Frieda had tears in her eyes and tried to hide them with her glass.

"Thank you" said Franklin in the same grave voice.

OOO

We were still very silent when Joanne and another waitress went in with the food. I smiled upon seeing the tater tot Joanne had put on the table together with the smoked walleye and some other things.

"I almost always take the tater tot hotdish when we eat here!" I told Franklin with a laugh "I was hoping to find it tonight as well"

Franklin smiled proudly: "The secret is beef. If the beef is bad, the hotdish tastes bad, simple as that".

Frieda, Sally and Sarah were standing in front of our picture and Sally was pointing at our images: "You see, Sarah? That is uncle Charles! I am this little one with short hair. And you recognize Frieda with curly hair over there..."

I spotted Jim talking excitedly with Peppermint, probably about sports, Lucy and Marcie were quietly chatting together on a sofa. Linus smiled at me and raised his glass at the other side of the room.

I felt a hand under my arm and turned to see Linda, smiling at me: "It's really great, everyone lookes so happy. Nice speech, by the way!"

"Thank you".

I took a tour across the room to exchange a few words with everyone and sat near Linus and Schroeder, who were talking.

"Hi, Charlie Brown!" said Schroeder, moving to give me some more space on the sofa "Linus was just telling me about Lucy's husband. It's really terrible" he said, searching for Lucy and then for the boys with his eyes.

"She's a big girl" cut in Linus "but she had a hard time, alone with three young boys. And she still has hard times, the youngest is missing his father quite a lot".

We all directed our looks at Chris, who was standing next to his brother but not participating in their discussion. Slowly, he walked away from them and came to stand in front of our picture, alone.

"He wants to be left alone very often, then he goes practicing for hours. He plays cello, you know" added Linus.

"Does he?" asked Schroeder. He stood up without waiting for an answer and walked over to Chris, beginning to chat with him.

We observed them for some time, then Linus said.

"There is a wish I will not express right now. I will leave it for my prayers" We looked at each other and I didn't need to ask myself what he was wishing for.

The quiet moment was interrupted by a loud laughter: Lucy, Frieda and Peppermint couldn't control themselves.

"Sorry folks... I was remembering that time when I played pitcher for Charlie Brown's team and we lost anyway" she laughed so hard that she had tears in her eyes.

"That proves something, though" said Frieda with a smile "We were always blaming it on Charlie Brown when we lost a game but we lost even when he didn't play"

"We were a poor excuse for a team" nodded Lucy.

"Oh, I wouldn't say that, your brother Linus was a great player" said Patty, bowing to Linus.

"Of course he was a great player! He is great at everything, isn't he?" Lucy answered sarcastically. Since high school, she had always been fed up to hear how brilliant and great and nice and so on her brother was.

Abigail came to hug me: "You see? That was a great idea! Everyone is having fun, I literally laughed like crazy. You were surely a very happy group of friends!"

I was only beginning to understand how right she was. Abby and Jim had had their friends in the neighbourhood, they had went out playing sports and swimming in the lake and so on but it hadn't been like us. Children their age were watching more television than us, playing with computers, listening to CD-roms and so on. It was normal, children in the nineties didn't grow up like children in the sixties but I felt happy that I had been a child in the sixties.

We went on chatting and eating. I talked with everyone and everyone was telling me how thankful they were for the reunion, how much fun they had had with me (with me!) during our childhood, how many times they had thought back at our sport sessions and vacations at summer camp over the years. Everyone remembered my dog Snoopy and asked about him.

I was left with the impression that I had been much more appreciated than I previously thought. Had I known that before, my life at high school would've probably been very different. But it was still good to know.

In the meanwhile, Franklin started bringing over desserts nd I took Peppermint's advice trying the cheesecake, which tasted heavenly.

"I would like to express a wish" said Linus' voice, quiet but firm, and everyone stopped talking to listen to him.

"Schroeder, would you please play one small piece for us. I know it is not very polite to ask but..."

"I must warn you, this is not like the pianos you're used to" said Franklin sadly but Schroeder waved his hand and sat on the bench with a smile.

"But please no Beethoven!" warned Lucy, coming to half-lean on the piano with her elbow. Schroeder rolled his eyes and started playing. I recognized the song from the first two or three chords: it was "Have yourself a merry little Christmas".

"I do the playing but you have to do the singing, folks" said Schroeder, turning to us. "I'll start from the beginning".

"Have yourself a merry little Christmas" singed Marcie's voice feebly.

"Let your hearts be light" Abby added her voice to Marcie's one.

"From now on our troubles will be out of sight" chorused some other female voices.

"Have yourself a merry little Christmas, make the Yuletide gay" came Linus' voice.

"From now on our troubles will be miles away" joined some other men's voices.

"Here we are as in older days, happy golden days of yore  
Faithful friends who are dear to us gather near to us once more"

We were all singing now and I felt tears in my eyes.

"Through the years we all will be together if the fates allow  
Hang a shining star upon the highest bough and have yourself a merry little Christmas now"

When the song ended we felt warm, everyone was moved. I thought back at that dreadful Christmas party when we had sung next to a small Christmas tree in a porch. That was the only Christmas tree I had managed to get and it was a complete fiasco. But it didn't feel like a fiasco anymore.  
"I remember one time, Charlie Brown" said Lucy's voice, unusually sweet "when you decided to organize a Christmas party but it didn't go well and we all ended up in a freezing porch, with a small, poorly decorated tree... well... I just wanted to say... I had fun that time. It felt good".

"I remember that as well. That was the most Christmas-like Christmas party ever. I remember we sang something but I don't remember what..."

Of course Linus did remember: "It was 'Hark! The herald angels sing".

Without even thinking, we started singing it together.

During the song I found myself standing next to the picture. I turned to the smiling image of Pig Pen and said:  
"Sorry you're not with us tonight. I hope you hear anyway".

**Thank you!**


End file.
